1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing transfer stickers with metal powder, and more particularly to a method using electroplating processes to laminate metal powder on substrates to fabricate stickers having vivid patterns, wherein only the patterns can be transferred from the substrates. The present invention also relates to the structure of the stickers that are made in accordance with this method.
2. Description of Related Art
Many people like to put special patterns on objects even their bodies to improve the appearance, especially kids or teens concerned with current fashions. They use cartoon adhesive paper or tattoo stickers to decorate objects or their bodies.
Conventional methods of producing stickers use three kinds of procedures.
1. Gilding: As shown in FIG. 8, a base layer (60) made of a paper or plastic membrane is prepared, and then one side of the base layer (60) is coated with an adhesive layer (61). An isolating layer (62), which can be easily separated from the adhesive layer (61), covers the adhesive layer (61) to keep the adhesive layer (61) from sticking to other undesired places. A gilding layer (63) is printed on the other side of the base layer (60) in patterns. Finally, a cutter (not shown) is used to trim along a cutting line (64) around the gilding layer (63), i.e. the pattern, to make the gilding layer (63) detachable from other parts of the sticker.
2. Vaporizing: As shown in FIG. 9, a base layer (70) made of a paper or plastic membrane is prepared, and then one side of the base layer (70) is coated with an adhesive layer (72). A laser pattern layer (71) is formed on the other side of the base layer (70) by vaporization to form patterns on the base layer (70). An isolating layer (73), which can be easily detached from the adhesive layer (72), is mounted on the adhesive layer (72) to keep the adhesive layer (72) from sticking to other undesired places. Finally, a cutter having specific shape cuts along a cutting line (74) so the laser pattern layer (71) can be separated from the isolating layer (73).
3. Etching: as shown in FIG. 10, a base layer (82) made of nylon is prepared, and then one side of the base layer (82) is coated with an adhesive layer (81). An isolating layer (80), which can be easily detached from the adhesive layer (81), is attached to an exposed side of the adhesive layer (81) to keep the adhesive layer from sticking to other undesired places. A metal powder layer (83) coats the other side of the base layer (82) by vaporization to cover the whole surface of the base layer (82). An ink layer (84) is printed on the metal powder layer (83) in a specific pattern, and then an acid solution is used to etch the metal powder layer (83) not covered with the ink layer (84) to form patterns on the base layer (82). After etching, the ink layer (84) is removed from the metal powder layer (83) by a washing process to complete the sticker. When the sticker is used, the adhesive layer (81) is detached from the isolating layer (80), and then the whole base layer (82) with the emerged patterns is attached to a desired place.
Stickers made using the first and second methods have inaccurate boundaries around the patterns because the cutter is often not precisely matched with the cutting lines (64, 74) around the patterns. Therefore, the pattern may be partially cut out, or margins may be left around the patterns to make the sticker coarse.
As to the third method, the patterns and other parts of the sticker such as the base layer (82) must be attached to objects to transfer the patterns. Thus, such a sticker is also coarse for decoration.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional method of producing transfer stickers.